Winners of the 24th Annual ABGR-AMEX Golf Tournament

May 1, 2017

RIYADH– The American Business Group of Riyadh (ABGR) hosted its 24th Annual Golf Tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at Dirab Golf & Country Club on Thursday and Friday, April 27th and 28th. Approximately 135 golfers participated in one of the longest running and most high-profile tournaments for the expat community.

Each year the tournament continues to grow and exceed the previous years. The golf course was in spectacular condition and the ABGR is already looking forward to next year’s event. A big thanks to Mr. Tom Merkel, the Golf Committee Chairman, and all the volunteers who helped put this together, it could not have been done without them. As Mr. Merkel reminds the attendees each year, “There’s a lot of pride and a lot of passion put into this golf tournament that has been hosted for as long as ours has. This is a labor of love.”

Tournament participants enjoyed a variety of competitions in addition to 18 holes of 4-ball Texas scramble golf tournament play. Competitions included a Hole-in-One presented by Kingdom Brokerage for Insurance & Reinsurance with two chances to win Ford Vehicles, a 2017 Mustang and F-150, supplied by Al-Jazirah Ford. Longest drive and closest to pin competitions were won by Stuart Halliday and Paromita Mukherjee, who also won the closest to the pin (ladies), while Patrick Kennedy took home the closest to the pin (men) prize.

There’s a lot of pride and a lot of passion put into this golf tournament that has been hosted for as long as ours has. This is a labor of love.Tom Merkel, ABGR Golf Committee Chairman, 2017

Congratulations to our first place winners of the tournament: Thomas Joakim Velinder, Sunil George, Carl Berrojo and Ronald Stermer.

Event sponsors committed to the tournament include the ABGR’s longtime partner and Title Sponsor American Express, whom offer best in-class corporate payment solutions that offer organizations complete and easy control over their operations and finances. Other major sponsors include first time tournament participants and Diamond Sponsors Wadi Qortuba, a Solidere International Project. Wadi Qortuba is an exclusive contemporary low rise compound designed for expatriate residents with a mix of villas and apartment buildings set in landscaped surroundings – A real oasis for living.

SABIC, also another first-time participant and Platinum Sponsor joined the ABGR-AMEX 24th Annual Golf Tournament this year as well. SABIC is one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies and the largest publicly-traded company in the Middle East, with operations in Europe, and Asia as well as the United States. The ABGR welcomes Wadi Qortuba and SABIC to the ABGR family and thank them wholeheartedly for their generous support. Other generous sponsors include Gama Dental Clinic, Dirab Golf & Country Club, The Hyatt Regency Olaya, Atheeb Intergraph S.A., FedEx – Abdul Latif Jameel, UPS, ExxonMobil, Boeing Company, Kingdom Brokerage for Insurance & Reinsurance, ADMC Advertising & Media, ASNAF Al-Jazeera Club Car, Mawarid Food Company – Pizza Hut, Al-Nakhla Residential Resort, and SOS International (SOSi).

“It is such an honor to be able to host members of the community, industry members, and supporters of the organization in our annual golf tournament”, says Dan Cagle, Chairman of the ABGR. “We are so lucky to be able to play such an outstanding golf course in the area and work with the incredible staff of Dirab.”